“Dreamstorming”

“It’s a funny state. It’s not as if you’re falling asleep at your computer, but neither are you brainstorming. You’re dreamstorming, inviting the images of moment-to-moment experience through your unconscious…the state of communion with your unconscious–the zone I’m trying to describe–is absolutely essential, absolutely essential to writing well in this art form.” –From Where You Dream by Robert Olen Butler, p. 31

I have found this idea of going right from the dream state to writing to be incredibly helpful, though at times hard to practice. It’s a way of removing obstacles to the flow of creative thoughts and visions, a way of connecting and keeping connected to our creative visions. Whenever I dip into Robert Olen Butler’s book, I am reminded how essential it is to put the writing first.

"A terrific new voice in young
adult fiction, Ellen Dreyer is the
real thing—a writer who knows
how to grab the reader's attention
and never let it go...."